A Trusted Friend is the Best Relative
by Rockport268
Summary: "Yeah," Lena agreed. "I should probably be heading out, too." "Where are you going to go?" Violet asked.


**Author's Note: Title comes from a Buddhist quote by Gautama Buddha from the Dhammapada, translated by Narada Maha Thera. The full quote is, "Health is the greatest gift, contentment is the greatest wealth, a trusted friend is the best relative, Nibbana is the greatest bliss." ****Takes place the morning after "Friendship Hates Magic!"**

* * *

Lena wasn't sure when they'd fallen asleep last night. She, Webby, and Violet had been up for hours, giving each other makeovers, getting to know each other, and talking about magic. And she wasn't quite sure when she'd woken up. But she was awake now, Webby and Violet weren't, and, judging by the amount of light coming in through the windows and the quiet of the house, it was still early in the morning.

And Lena was perfectly, gloriously content.

She was finally out of the Shadow Realm. She could finally talk to Webby again. She could interact with the world, and she didn't have to worry about shadows and dark spirits creeping up on her. And she'd even gotten a new friend out of the deal, which was pretty big considering Aunt Magica had stood between Lena and every other friend she'd ever tried to make.

Yeah. Life was pretty good.

In the sleeping bag next to her, Webby began to stir. Lena held her breath, hoping she hadn't somehow woken her up.

Webby's eyes opened, and she blinked a few times before springing up and facing Lena.

"You're still here!" she shouted, throwing her arms around her.

"What, did you think I was going to sneak out the window in the middle of the night?"

_"No!" _Webby said, suddenly serious. "But what if you'd gotten sucked back into the Shadow Realm while we were all sleeping and we didn't even know?!"

"Highly unlikely," Violet said, untangling herself from her own sleeping bag. "Passing into the Shadow Realm requires an intense concentration of magic."

"Yeah, and I wouldn't do any magic like that without my two best friends," Lena said, not even trying to suppress the smile that crept onto her face.

Webby smiled and squeezed her tight one more time before shouting, "Who wants _breakfast?"_

"I would be in favor of some nourishment," said Violet.

"Oooooh, can we make pancakes?" Lena asked.

"Oooooh, pancakes! I'll ask Granny! Meet you in the kitchen!" Webby said, zipping out of the room.

Lena stood up. "Sorry for waking you up," she said to Violet.

"It's all right. I received a sufficient amount of sleep," Violet said, rolling up her sleeping bag. Lena wondered if she should do the same. "How was your first night out of the Shadow Realm?"

"Oh, you know. It could have been worse," Lena said with a smirk. "It turns out my best friend's new friend is pretty cool to have at sleepovers. Especially when there are Tulpas around."

"Yes. I am quite glad we were able to dispel the Tulpas," Violet said. She clicked the buckles of her sleeping bag into place and stood up. Together, the girls started making their way to the kitchen.

"I'm sorry I was jealous of your friendship with Webby," Lena said. "I was just…"

"Being normal?" Violet finished for her and then grinned at Lena's surprised expression. "It is not unusual to feel jealousy when our friends develop new friendships."

"...Sure," Lena said. It wasn't exactly what she was going to say, but it wasn't wrong, either. At least, as far as she knew.

"I, for one, am glad that you were able to overcome those feelings. A friendship of three is far superior to a friendship of two."

"Yeah," Lena said. She raised her arms in the air mock-menacingly and pulled a ridiculous and "scary" face. "And otherwise, we would have been eaten by Tulpas!" The two girls dissolved into laughter as they entered the kitchen.

"Ok! We have blueberries, bananas, strawberries, and pecans, and Granny even said we could use CHOCOLATE CHIPS!" Webby said, shoving said chocolate chips in her friends' faces.

"Nice!" Lena said, taking the chocolate chips.

"I'm quite partial to bananas, myself," Violet said.

"Perfect!" Webby said. She grabbed the pancake recipe card off the counter. "We need flour, milk, baking powder, eggs, and sugar."

"I'll get the eggs and milk," Lena said. "Violet, the baking powder is in the cabinet next to the."

"Got it," said Violet.

"I'll get the flour!" Webby said, and soon the three girls were mixing up batter and discussing magic as if they'd been doing so every Saturday morning for years. Afterwards, they sat down at the dining room table to feast upon their chocolate chip banana pancakes.

"Is there a need for food in the Shadow Realm?" Violet asked.

"No," said Lena. "It makes things easier, though, since there isn't any food in there, either."

"Intriguing," Violet said.

"You haven't eaten anything this whole time?" asked Webby.

"Nope."

"Does it feel odd to eat now for the first time since the Shadow War?"

Lena thought for a moment. "Not really?" she said. "Which is kind of weird, when you think about it."

"Do you have to sleep in the Shadow Realm?" Webby asked.

"No."

"Did you sleep anyway?"

Lena scoffed. "I wish," she said. "It got _so boring_ when you guys were all sleeping..."

* * *

"I should be heading back home," Violet said once they had cleaned up breakfast and gotten dressed for the day.

Lena felt her heart plummet into her stomach.

"This sleepover has been most enjoyable and informative. I look forward to our future meetings," Violet continued as she shouldered her bag and they made their way to the front door.

"Me, too!" Webby said.

"Yeah," Lena agreed. "I should probably be heading out, too."

"Where are you going to go?" Violet asked. "You said you used to live at the old amphitheater with Magica De Spell, did you not?"

"Well, yeah, but-"

"And she has since disappeared."

"Yeah, so-"

"You'll stay here!" said Webby.

_"What?"_ Lena hardly dared to breathe.

"It does make logical sense," Violet said thoughtfully. "McDuck Manor has plenty of space, and you are in need of a parental guardian."

"But-"

"It'll be like one big never-ending sleepover!" said Webby.

"But what about…" Lena's head swam. She didn't know where to begin.

"What about what?" Webby asked.

"I don't know! Scrooge, Della, your grandma-"

"Lena!" came a surprised voice from the stairwell behind them. They turned to find Mrs. Beakley holding a broom and dustpan, ready to sweep the smoke bomb dust from the foyer. "Where on earth did you come from?"

"It's quite a long story," Violet said. "But I really must be going"

"Oh! Of course!" said Webby. She gave Violet one last hug before opening the door. "See you soon!'

"Next Wednesday at the library, same as this week?"

"Library day it is!" Webby said.

"Excellent," Violet said. She turned to Lena before she left. "I do hope you find a suitable living situation."

"My goodness, yes!" Mrs. Beakley said. "You can't go back to living on your own!"

"Bye! See you at the library!" Lena waved to Violet. Violet waved back one last time and Lena shut the door.

"Come. Let's sit down in the living room," Mrs. Beakley said. She put the broom aside and led the girls towards the couch inside.

To Lena's surprise, before they sat down, Mrs. Beakley wrapped her in a big hug.

"We thought you were gone for good," she said, and Lena could have sworn she saw her wipe a tear from her eye.

"But she's _back!"_ Webby yelled before quickly diving into a retelling of the last 14 hours.

"You've been Webby's shadow all this time?" Mrs. Beakley asked Lena when her granddaughter was finished.

"Yeah," Lena said with a shrug.

Mrs. Beakley looked thoughtful.

"And now she can move in with us, right?" Webby asked.

"Of course," Mrs. Beakley said. "We'll have to run it by Mr. McDuck first, but I'm sure he won't object."

Scrooge's words from the Shadow War echoed in Lena's head. _"Help me get my family back, and you'll have a place in it."_ It seemed like so long ago that he'd made that promise. Would he keep it? What if he decided Lena was more trouble than she was worth?

"We'll put you in the north wing, near Webbigail and myself," Mrs. Beakley was saying. "I'll be able to get a room ready for you to sleep in by tonight, but it'll take a little longer to make it truly livable."

Lena heard the front door swing open, and the foyer outside the living room filled with voices.

"Perfect timing!" Webby said, jumping up. "Let's go ask Uncle Scrooge if Lena can stay _now!"_ Before either Lena or Mrs. Beakley could object, she ran out of the room.

A few seconds later, Webby returned, Scrooge in tow, talking at him at about a mile a minute. Lena was so nervous that she didn't even bother to try to figure out what she was saying.

Finally, almost in slow motion, Scrooge turned his head, and his eyes fell on Lena.

"Bless me bagpipes!" he said, looking a little like he'd seen a ghost, but then his face broke into a grin. "I had a feeling we hadn't seen the last of you, lassie! Magica De Spell's magic never disappears for very long!" He winked. "And for once, I'm glad of it!"

"Really?" Lena couldn't stop the word from popping out of her mouth.

"Of course! And if I recall correctly, I still owe ye something."

Lena froze. "Uh…"

"Beakley!" he called. "Set up another one of the bedrooms! We've got a new member of the family."

Webby's cheering barely registered to Lena. She felt her eyes fill with tears even as her beak widened into a smile.

A _family._ She had a _family._ A real one, one that wouldn't force her to do their bidding and hold her freedom hostage. One that was happy to see her.

One that wanted her.


End file.
